While Marcella had confidence in her charm, much of her success could be attributed to a proper respect for theatrics. She was a beautiful woman but the right lighting and a properly decorated room could turn her, or anyone else, into the kind of vision bards wrote songs about.

She could say the same thing a hundred different ways. The trick was finding the words that touched someone’s heart and it was different for every person. Marcella had a way of looking at someone and seeing their fantasies. The things that captured their hearts. Then she tried to make them see those fantasies in her.

For Maxine, what captured her heart was power. Just as employees were faceless to Marcella, she and her siblings were faceless to their father, an incredibly vain man who only bothered to recognize them when they made themselves useful to his whims. That disregard had forged Maxine into a woman that craved recognition more than anything, particularly that of the marquis.

Marcella could make her sister love her easily. All she had to do was flatter her a little. Maybe ask for her advice on business matters here and there. Encourage her to start her own store. Throw a party where she was the guest of honor and make sure everyone piled heaping mounds of flattery at her feet.

Unfortunately for Maxine, Marcella didn’t need to be adored by her sister. What she needed was less competition. So, rather than cultivate their relationship, Marcella used her insight to tear the younger woman down. She wanted to be important so the elder sister made sure Maxine felt like nothing in her presence.

To prepare for her sister’s arrival, she cleared her desk of most of the papers cluttering it and forced herself to languidly lounge in her seat. Giving the appearance of already having finished her work for the day despite the early hour. A silly trick but for nobles, who were taught to read far too much into even the simplest gesture and assume the worst, it could be devastating. Maxine would look at her clean desk and invent the worst possible explanation for it. The poor girl was really her worst enemy.

Shortly after Marcella finished setting the scene, there was another knock on her door. This time, the person on the other side didn’t wait for an answer before coming in.

It took one glance for Marcella to realize that something had changed with her sister. Her conclusion had nothing to do with Maxine’s physical changes, though those were quite drastic. She’d cut her hair, the black waterfall that had once reached the center of her back chopped down to her ears. She was also wearing a shirt and trousers, attire Maxine had never been fond of, having adhered to traditional standards of beauty prevalent in the capital.

But neither of those things was why Marcella felt her sister had changed. It was her gaze. Once she entered the room, the gray eyes swept over the clean desk, as Marcella knew they would. They should have narrowed or dropped to the ground. Instead, they settled on Marcella with…disdain. She couldn’t remember the last time Maxine had held her gaze let alone stared her down.

“Good of you to visit,” Marcella said, straightening up. Her eyes discretely flicked over her sister, looking for new insight. “There isn’t much to do here but I’m sure I can find you something to keep busy.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have the time. I came to tell you that I’m leaving the city.”

Marcella stared at her. “…Father is sending you away?”

“Father knows nothing about it.”

The elder sister was having a hard time keeping up. Maxine’s words made no sense. She was also keeping her expression carefully blank, making it that much harder to infer anything. “…you’re leaving the city on an unsanctioned venture?”

“Yes, tonight.”

Marcella chuckled, amused by the unexpected circumstances. “So? Did you come to ask for funding? Company? Well wishes?”

“None of that. I assume that one of your tasks is keeping an eye on me or at the very least keeping Father apprised of the situation.”

“How considerate. Then? Where are you headed?”

“None of your business.”

Marcella’s lips twitched. “You play games now?”

“No games. All you need to know is that my movements aren’t your concern. Or Father’s.”

A bold proclamation. To move without their father’s approval was to move without his resources. Maxine wanted to make a deal on her own. If it succeeded, all the acclaim would be hers but if she failed, she would also shoulder all the consequences. It was a risky way to get noticed. One she didn’t think her sister capable of.

“Are you sure?”

“Quite. I would not have come to you if my resolve wasn’t firm.”

“It’s not too late to change your mind. I don’t want to see you hurt, Maxie.”

“A mugger could gut me outside your office and you wouldn’t bat an eye.” The younger woman scoffed. “I’ll be back in two weeks, maybe three.”

Marcella’s mind turned rapidly, as she mentally listed every destination in the kingdom that her sister could visit and return from in three weeks. The list was too long. The problem was she couldn’t imagine what her sister wanted in any of them.

If she had to guess, she’d wager Maxine was headed for Rosentheim. The people there had crowns to burn. An enterprising mind could always find a way to profit.

Marcella’s problem was that her family already had plenty of connections in the City of Roses. If Maxine wanted to try her luck, her father would readily support her. It wasn’t worth striking out on her own for a peasant’s wage when she could make much more with her family, sparing them all her dramatics.

It suggested that Maxine had a lead on a big score. One that the Guiness family had missed despite their many agents and extensive connections. And that was interesting.

“One more thing, sister.” Maxine sighed. “I know you’re not going to listen to me but stay out of this hunter business.”

It was cute. Whatever her sister was scheming, it had given her a little confidence and now she thought she could give orders. “Thank you but I’m not scared of the guilds.”

“I’m not warning you about the guilds. I’m warning you about Lou and her house. You’re underestimating them, Marcella. Looking down on them as you look down on everyone but you don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

“I see. Please, enlighten me.”

“I don’t have the faintest idea what they’re really capable of.”

Marcella chuckled. “Then why should I listen to you?”

“Because I’ve been around Kierra. Heard the things she says. I’ve also done my research into summoning. I know what the elementals Lou keeps at her sides are really capable of. Whatever it is the guilds are plotting, it might really piss her off. And Lou has already shown that when she’s angry, she doesn’t care about the fallout. You could get caught in the battle trying to loot the bodies.”

Marcella’s finger idly tapped on the armrest of her chair as she eyed her sister. She briefly entertained that the warning was a tactic to unnerve her. Keep her distracted chasing shadows so she didn’t look into Maxine’s affairs.

She dismissed the thought a moment later. Maxine had changed in many ways but she was still straightforward. She couldn’t imagine her sister employing that kind of deception. Besides, her eyes were too honest.

“Do you think Lou would slaughter those around her indiscriminately?”

“I want to say no but truthfully? I have no idea. At times, she’s empathetic, almost too much so when it comes to beautiful women, which…” Marcella accepted the implied compliment with a smile. “But other times…she’s cold. I can’t see her doing anything drastic by herself but with Kierra and the succubi beside her, pushing her…”

Maxine shook her head. “Take my advice or don’t. Just remember, our last name isn’t an impenetrable shield. It won’t protect you from an errant spell so keep your head down.”

“I’ll keep your words in mind. In return, here.” Marcella pulled open a drawer and dropped a small bag of coins on the desk. Keeping a little “bribe money” nearby was a habit she’d picked up long ago. There was no telling who would walk into her office any given day and it always paid to be prepared.

When Maxine made no move to grab it, Marcella tossed it to her, chuckling at her frown. “I’ve never seen someone so unhappy to receive money.”

“I didn’t ask for this.”

“You didn’t. It’s an older sister’s job to look after the younger siblings, isn’t it?” Marcella didn’t know what her sister had planned but she liked the younger woman’s new attitude. It was likely a phase that would pass without anything coming of it but on the off-chance it wasn’t useless posturing, it couldn’t hurt to be remembered doing something kind right before a big success. “My way of wishing you a safe journey.”

“Sure. I wish you the best as well, sister.”

There was a small moment of awkwardness as both women evaluated one another before Maxine hastily curtsied and left the room. Once the door slammed closed, Marcella grabbed the paperwork she’d hidden and put it back on her desk. She only managed to stare at the account books for a few moments before her curiosity got the better of her and she left the office.

Maxine planned to leave at night. That gave Marcella a few hours to figure out what she was up to and, hopefully, get a pair of eyes on her movements. Information won wars and it seemed Maxine had finally become a player in the war to succeed their father.